Google's G1 Looks

Made by Taiwan's HTC Corp, the G1 is being released on October 22 by T-Mobile in the US and will cost $179 with a two-year contract. The device, about the size as the iPhone but plumper, will be available in black or bronze. It sports a large touchscreen, and the lower smidgen of the device is angled -- the curvature seemed more stylistic than functional to me -- and sports four buttons and a trackball.

Beneath the touchscreen is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that makes the G1 feel like a grownup's version of another device T-Mobile sells, the Sidekick. The keyboard will appeal to anyone who, like me, still prefers the feel of physical keys rather than virtual ones on the screen (sorry, Apple).